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Terry Fox

by Brandon from Sydney

“If you’ve given a dollar, you are part of the Marathon of Hope .”
Terry Fox (Internet)
Terry Fox (Internet)

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

Terry Fox was brave. He is brave because he lost his leg to cancer and then he wanted to walk across Canada to help raise money for the cancer society. He then got cancer again but this time in his lungs. He had to stop his walk because it was too big of a risk to keep going.

Terry in the Marathon of Hope (internet)
Terry in the Marathon of Hope (internet)

Terry Fox was strong-willed. He was strong-willed because when he was in the hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He called this cross-Canada walk The Marathon of Hope.

Terry Fox was Strong. He is strong because he was going to try to walk from one coast of Canada to the other coast. You would have to be strong physically and mentally. You would also have to be very fit. Terry only made it to Thunder Bay, Ontario but he managed to run over an average of 26 miles per day for 143 days.

On September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, Terry had to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22. I believe Terry Fox is a true Canadian hero. He has all the qualities to be a hero.

Page created on 8/29/2005 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 8/29/2005 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Terry Fox Run - About The Terry Fox Run and Terry Fox Biography
Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Program - About Terry Fox and the Humanitarian Award Program